Word of a price drop at Best Buy for the Sprint Galaxy Tab leaked out via some images last week, but Sprint has beaten Best Buy to the punch and now list their Galaxy Tab for $299 on contact and $499 without contract.

I haven’t been able to puzzle out if it is possible to order the Galaxy Tab without a contract as someone that is not presently a Sprint customer, but I have an inquiry in to Sprint PR and will update this post when I get an answer. Otherwise if any of you Sprint users that are more adept with their website than I would care to weigh in that would be appreciated.

With the Motorola Xoom and a slew of other more powerful Android tablets ready to hit the market in the next 1-3 months (including Samsung’s own Galaxy Tab 4G) we are in the final days for the current Galaxy Tab to make the most of its status as the only Android tablet with official Market support.

For those that haven’t picked up a Galaxy Tab yet does the new pricing get you any closer to making a purchase or are you Honeycomb or bust?

Update: I heard back from Sprint and they confirmed that you can pick the Tab up for $499 without a contract. So if you don’t feel like waiting for that WiFi only version you can amble into your local Sprint store and snap one up right now.

I am a Sprint customer, and I don’t understand the purpose of the tablets at all. If they were to combine it with contract is already have for me EVO, I may think about it. But right now to different contracts for one provider is crazy to me.

Tell me about it! This whole tabs thing is just stupid to me. They are trying to turn it into another phone business model so they can rip people off some more. Thank God, it’s not a necessity like a cell phone or a laptop.

Amen . . . I just don’t get it unless you are using a tablet as a phone/always connected device. Hell, I’m around WiFi most all the time anyways. . . why do I want to pay an over-priced data plan for a tablet, especially for 3G?

Really, if a tablet needs a contract then it should be priced similarly to a smartphone–all the same hardware just bigger which means the phone should cost more.

It’s just companies price gouging early adopters. . . we expect this behavior form Apple and carriers. . .

Totally waiting for a honeycomb tablet. And the size is also a bit of a bummer. But with the hardware of the XOOM and other devices im waiting. IF they dropped it to maybe 200 then i would consider but i would still probably wait

I’m sure they know themselves it doesn’t make much sense to have a 3G tablet, but they’d rather have a new category of devices to hook you in for 2 years than simply be retail stores for wi-fi tablets. If tablets are sold through carriers, the carriers will obviously have the incentive to try to sell you one with a 2 year contract. In turn, they are forcing manufacturers to release the Wi-Fi version months after the 3G/4G version.

The fact that the price of the Galaxy Tab is coming down should indicate that the WiFi only version is right around the corner. With these new prices, I bet the WiFi version of the Tab will be showing up at Best Buy for $399 or less.

That’s still not the magic price point, but it’s certainly a lot better than signing another contract.

i totally agree, the cellular companies are dropping the ball here hoping people will sign up for a data plan on their phone and on their tablet. which is why the US manufacturers are blocking phone functions on the tablets. if they had an option to merge plans for an extra $10-$20 a month i would bet they could see triple the residual profits compared to separating the devices. sounds like sales people got a hold of the P.R. department to fatten sprint wallets over gaining more customers and keeping current ones happy

im going to wait to see 3.0 on a 10 inch tablet that i can re-mod to open the phone feature. if no such device exists by may/june 2011 i probably get the evo

p.s. i wonder what sprint has in store for this february 2011 press release they are offering? i think its just about a 4g 10 inch tablet

We’re currently running a contest to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab for free and you can choose from 6 different models. Best part is that its open to ANYONE from ANYWHERE, but hurry because there are only a limited number of spots left! Check here for more details http://bit.ly/fLeCdP

I played with the Galaxy Tab in my local BestBuy and I have to say the screen dosen’t feel nice to touch! the apps are just bulky and it feels like a big Android phone… I want to see Honey Comb on a tablet…

I tried to buy a sprint galaxy tab today from bestbuy and was told sprint no longer offers the galaxy tab without a contract. i also tried ordering one through sprints website and found no option to get one without a contract, what gives?

I am a Sprint customer, and I don’t understand the purpose of the tablets at all. If they were to combine it with contract is already have for me EVO, I may think about it. But right now to different contracts for one provider is crazy to me.

Tell me about it! This whole tabs thing is just stupid to me. They are trying to turn it into another phone business model so they can rip people off some more. Thank God, it’s not a necessity like a cell phone or a laptop.

Amen . . . I just don’t get it unless you are using a tablet as a phone/always connected device. Hell, I’m around WiFi most all the time anyways. . . why do I want to pay an over-priced data plan for a tablet, especially for 3G?

Really, if a tablet needs a contract then it should be priced similarly to a smartphone–all the same hardware just bigger which means the phone should cost more.

It’s just companies price gouging early adopters. . . we expect this behavior form Apple and carriers. . .

Totally waiting for a honeycomb tablet. And the size is also a bit of a bummer. But with the hardware of the XOOM and other devices im waiting. IF they dropped it to maybe 200 then i would consider but i would still probably wait

I’m sure they know themselves it doesn’t make much sense to have a 3G tablet, but they’d rather have a new category of devices to hook you in for 2 years than simply be retail stores for wi-fi tablets. If tablets are sold through carriers, the carriers will obviously have the incentive to try to sell you one with a 2 year contract. In turn, they are forcing manufacturers to release the Wi-Fi version months after the 3G/4G version.

The fact that the price of the Galaxy Tab is coming down should indicate that the WiFi only version is right around the corner. With these new prices, I bet the WiFi version of the Tab will be showing up at Best Buy for $399 or less.

That’s still not the magic price point, but it’s certainly a lot better than signing another contract.

i totally agree, the cellular companies are dropping the ball here hoping people will sign up for a data plan on their phone and on their tablet. which is why the US manufacturers are blocking phone functions on the tablets. if they had an option to merge plans for an extra $10-$20 a month i would bet they could see triple the residual profits compared to separating the devices. sounds like sales people got a hold of the P.R. department to fatten sprint wallets over gaining more customers and keeping current ones happy

im going to wait to see 3.0 on a 10 inch tablet that i can re-mod to open the phone feature. if no such device exists by may/june 2011 i probably get the evo

p.s. i wonder what sprint has in store for this february 2011 press release they are offering? i think its just about a 4g 10 inch tablet

We’re currently running a contest to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab for free and you can choose from 6 different models. Best part is that its open to ANYONE from ANYWHERE, but hurry because there are only a limited number of spots left! Check here for more details http://bit.ly/fLeCdP

I played with the Galaxy Tab in my local BestBuy and I have to say the screen dosen’t feel nice to touch! the apps are just bulky and it feels like a big Android phone… I want to see Honey Comb on a tablet…

I tried to buy a sprint galaxy tab today from bestbuy and was told sprint no longer offers the galaxy tab without a contract. i also tried ordering one through sprints website and found no option to get one without a contract, what gives?